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Cyndi Lauper performs in 2024
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First-time nominees Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker and Bad Company will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a class that also includes pop star Cyndi Lauper, 71, the hip-hop pioneers Outkast, the rock duo the White Stripes and grunge masters Soundgarden.
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The late Cocker, who sang at Woodstock and was best known for his cover of The Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends,” had the backing of Billy Joel, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top and Pete Thomas, a member of Elvis Costello & The Attractions, who argued that Cocker is “about as rock and roll as it gets." In February, Paul McCartney, 82, wrote a letter to the Rock Hall to urge Cocker's induction: "While he may not have ever lobbied to be in the Hall of Fame, I know he would be extremely happy and grateful to find himself where he deserves to be amongst such illustrious company.”
Soundgarden — with the late Chris Cornell as singer — gets into the Hall on their third nomination. They follow two other grunge acts in the Hall — Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Bad Company earned their induction with such arena-rock staples as “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Can’t Get Enough” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy.”
Lauper rose to fame in the 1980s with hits such as “Time After Time” and “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” and went on to win a Tony Award for “Kinky Boots.” In her 2016 AARP cover story Cyndi Lauper: Still Having Fun, she joked that she and Cher, 78, would outlast all the other rock stars. “I really think that when Armageddon comes, it's gonna be just cockroaches, me and Cher. And we're gonna do the 'End of the World Tour.' I'll probably open for her."
Don't miss this: Cyndi Lauper takes on aging (AARP video)
New Rock Hall inductee OutKast, made up of André 3000, 49, and Big Boi, 50, have six Grammys and a reputation for pushing the boundaries of hip-hop. The White Stripes — made up of Jack White, 49, and Meg White, 50 — were indie darlings in the early 2000s with such songs as “Seven Nation Army.”
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